In the summertime I am struck by difference between the way the young men in my ward (congregation) and the young women in my ward dress. The young men are administering the sacrament so they have on dress pants, a white shirt, and a tie. On any given Sunday there will be a young woman there in a denim skirt, a t-shirt and flip flops. I don't like to talk about the casual dress of some of the young women in our meetings on Sunday, because I don't want to embarrass anyone. Even when I do say something it doesn't seem to have an impact the next week in how the young women are dressed. Just to be clear: I am not talking about young women who have no other clothing option or who's 'Sunday best' really is a graphic T.
This Tuesday we went to a lake for our mutual activity, so I took the opportunity to talk to the young women about their footwear at church. I asked them what they would do if they were going on a date and had dressed casually, but the boy came to pick them up and he was all dressed up. They agreed that they would ask him to wait while they changed into something more dressy. I then pointed out how the young men are totally out dressing the young women at our Sunday meetings. I think they got the connection. Then I told them that the flip flops they were wearing to go the lake were great for going to the lake, but not for going to church.
I handed out flip flop keychains with a quote from the November 2005 general conference:
"We used to speak of 'best dress' or 'Sunday dress,' and maybe we should do so again. In any case, from ancient times to modern we have always been invited to present our best selves inside and out when entering the house of the Lord—and a dedicated LDS chapel is a “house of the Lord.” Our clothing or footwear need never be expensive, indeed should not be expensive, but neither should it appear that we are on our way to the beach."
Jeffrey R. Holland
I'm waiting to see if I made an impact at all when I go to church this afternoon!
13 comments:
What a great hand-out and lesson, Barb. I'm so glad you addressed it. I'm excited to hear about your results.
I remrmber that talk. I get discouraged even looking at the number of flip flops in Relief Society.
I can't wait to hear about the results. Great handout.
I have to say though, since being in Nursery, I dress waaay down. I'm tired of ruining clothes and shoes. I've also been known to change into a tshirt (tasteful, no words of course) once I get into the nursery room. The side of the building Nursery is on never seems to have an operable a/c and all those kids and snot, sometimes you just have to dress down!
Tell your YW to dress nice now and they can look forward to a more casual look with a nursery calling in 20 years!
Kelly A. I hear ya! My husband wore his old worn out suit to church when we had small children and saved his good clothes for work. Nursery is the exception of all exceptions, no doubt. I think your advice is funny, and I'm definitely going to pass it on to my young women.
BTW: No flip flops at church today!
That is brilliant. My parents would love this idea. You have no idea now many times they have lectured all of us on this topic. We usually don't need the reminding:-)
You're such a great YW's leader, I hope the girls appreciate your guidance. I can't believe how casually the YW dress for church and think you are brilliant to point out the difference in how the YM have to dress. Flip-flops especially are inappropriate, so even getting them to make that connection is huge progress.
What a great opportunity to teach, and I love how you did it. I'm anxious to hear how today was!
What a great way to tie in a lesson! I will be the first to admit I am a flip flopper at church, I have recently being wearing nicer shoes though.
Brilliant! I love the idea of the flip flop key chain and the way your picking one thing to try to change. You sound like a great teacher to these YW - let us know if you see any better shoes on them :-)
Good luck with that Barb. It's so hard because you want to encourage them to follow Elder Holland's counsel while not making the girls feel like you're picking on them. I think the handout was a great idea.
Great little handout, glad you saw some results with it, too!
Kelly A's comment about nursery wardrobe cracked me up -- so true. The former nursery leader would bring track pants and put them on under her dress. It cracked me up. But the one day she was tackled by all the boys and was lying on the floor covered in toddlers with her skirt up to her waist was the last!
oh my gosh! you must come back and tell us what kind of impact that had.
this is a huge pet peeve of mine. in church last sunday, ALL of the acolytes had flip-flops peeking out from under their robes, and two of the three had wet, straggly hair! BAH!!
remember the whole issue with the women who visited the white house and wore flip-flops? kudos to the young men in your ward.
Wow, good for you! I hope the girls really take it to heart.
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